Bill Apter

Bill Apter (born October 22, 1945) is an American journalist specializing in professional wrestling, and is best known for the magazines of which he was part of the editorial staff and photographed matches from the 1970s to the 1990s, including Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Apter was so closely associated with these magazines that they were often known as "Apter Mags."

Apter was a reporter-writer-photographer for several wrestling and boxing magazines published by Stanley Weston, including The Wrestler and Inside Wrestling. He was eventually promoted to the senior editor spot at Weston's wrestling publications.

The publications Apter worked for were directed at the common fan and usually operated under the premise that professional wrestling was not scripted or predetermined. The editors of the magazines had the mentality that they were covering wrestling the way Sports Illustrated covers other sports.

Apter also hosted a TV segment, The PWI Scouting Report on Best of World Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett's NWA TV show broadcast weekly on WTBS, as well as a stint with the nationally syndicated Pro Wrestling This Week TV news magazine, and segments on dozens of other televised wrestling shows. He was also the co-host (with Gordon Solie) of pro wrestling's first commercial home video "Lords Of The Ring."

In 1991, Apter helped compile the PWI 500, a detailed ranking of the top 500 wrestlers in the world. Pro Wrestling Illustrated has published the list every year since its inception.

In 1999, he accepted the editorship of WOW Magazine. The publication folded in 2001.

Apter works for 1Wrestling.com as an editor, writer, and video-interviewer. He has been a feature columnist for Fighting Spirit magazine and contributes to the Italian wrestling magazine called "Tutto Wrestling Magazine" in a section called "Apter's Alley."

Apter made his return to the Pro Wrestling Illustrated family of magazines as a freelancer in Volume 20, 2008 of The Wrestler with a 90-minute question and answer session with Tammy Sytch. Apter has also done an interview with Nick Bockwinkel for another edition of The Wrestler magazine.

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